Yet another first time track day impression/suggestion
 

Get an oil cooler. That is all.

Well, there is a little more... The car is a bone stock 2011 touring sport coupe. The track is the Great Plains Raceway near Denver, about 2.50 miles in length with elevation, undulation, off camber turns, decreasing radius turns and blind turns. Basically a newbie's nightmare. Once you learn the track layout it becomes quite fun and challenging to then learn the line. Temp was mid 80's I think.

The Z held up remarkably well in braking and cornering and sucked azz in the rev department due to oil heat issues. I hit about 120mph on the long straight once, but usually would only do 80 in 6th to cool things off so I could spend the bulk of the track in 2nd/3rd for power. It was really disconcerting to deal with rev issues/watching the oil temps, when on a new track trying to learn. Thanks Nissan for building a sports car and not addressing this fundamental issue.

I was impressed with the handling of the car which has the impression of being nervous and twitchy to the uninitiated but once you strap on some sack and attack a corner the thing just sticks. Braking on stock pads was fine but I can see that at a minimum I'll need upgraded pads and fluid once I install an oil cooler and can maintain more aggressive engine speeds.

There was another coupe/sport outfitted with a stillen SC - pretty damn sweet!

Time to search the forums for oil coolers!

Good to hear it turned out well. Yea Nissan messed up with the oil temp issues but its an easy fix.

Stock pads are decent, but Nismo pads are superb.

Though the car handles very well stock, I feel like Nissan left a lot on the table as far as tightening things up.

She felt pretty dam tight when I took her on the Dragon. I could only imagine what she will be like with better tires brakes and some suspension mods.

First time I've heard of Nismo pads being superb? I feel there's plenty of other options they are far superb to the Nismo's. Especially for the price that Nismo's run.

what oil temps were you hitting? I'm in Texas, ambient temps have been consistently in the mid 90's and my oil temp hovers around 220, but I am an aggressive driver. I am hoping I can at least keep the temps below 250 at the track until I invest in an oil cooler.

shift at 5 or 6K rpm is probably your only way

I was pushing 280. I wasn't driving that aggressively on my first run since I didn't know the track and it still cut out due to heat by my 3rd lap.

Hmm, so limp mode comes in at 280-degrees then?

Yes it does. Very weird feeling.

I can imagine. It happened in my Maxima once 7 years ago...MAF failed. I had to putter at 30MPH to the dealership, car wouldn't rev past 3K RPM.

I was hitting 265 today at Road Atlanta in 92 degree weather with a tru-cool 24 row core. Might be time to move up to bigger soon.

Did you hit limp mode?

You think a 34R is big going to be big enough?

GTM has a dual setup. But I don't like having that many lines. http://www.gtmotorsports.com/product...cat=266&page=1

But Sebtrab makes 44 and 50 row coolers. http://www.bakerprecision.com/setrab.htm

no limp mode, thats at 280, I think. Just a little bigger should be better. I've run this setup for two years now, and nothing bad has happened, although I'm driving a bit harder now that I have learned the feel of the car, and we have become one, its almost Zenlike ;)

That's funny

You will overcool you oil so much that the car becomes barely unusable

hm, interesting. I had been assuming I could get away with a 24 core since I was in VA, but since I'm moving south I guess I may need to get something bigger.

Just go big and use a block off plate like the one in my Sig for the cooler days and winters. I've played with it alot and know where to set it for for certain temps now.

I unfortunately hit 265 pretty regularly on warm track days, and that is with the AE Performance 72 row Setrab narrow core (roughly the same area as the 34R series 6). They use -8AN lines so I'm wondering if I'm just not getting enough flow volume?

For the others considering a cooler - what you'll need generally depends on the driver and how hard you push the car. The more time you are on the throttle the more heat that is generated. For most beginners I would say the 24R is fine, but if you have previous track experience go for the 34R.

i installed an AE cooler on mine and have used a simple blockoff plate during the winter. went with the AE so i could have peace of mind in being aggressive during the hot nevada summers. There were a few reviews on this forum about still overheating at the track with some of the other coolers. i don't have any personal experience with any cooler other than the AE, but i am pleased with it. i also just swapped in a set of Hawk HP+ front pads for track day and noticed a big difference. good luck!

You will outgrow the HP+ very quickly, they don't have a particularly high heat tolerance, just a high bite. You'll notice it more in the tracks with heavy braking zones where you have to slow down from 130 to 40 mph as that generates a massive amount of heat and causes temporary pad fade.

on top of having to get new rotors after each track day with teh HP+

My car is off road only. No street use, so that's not an issue.

Hmm, could be my lines too. After the VIR mishap last spring I Didn't do any hot weather track days last summer. Previous summer I had the aeroquip slip on (slip off in my case) fittings with bigger hoses. Now I'm running hydraulic lines with same outer diameter but much smaller inner diameter.

knock on wood, my an10 aeroquip fittings are working well

Mike, what clutch do you plan to with now?

I think it's a spec r,but I'm not sure. Jon at z1 just pulled it off a FI nismo and is going to try to get me a deal on it.

i wondered about that, but was told that my usual track (spring mountain) is not particularly brake heavy. and i am still quite a newbie and only get to the track a couple times a year. what pads would you recommend over the hp+? thx!

Carbotech's seems to be very favorable pad here. Not positive of which ones to go with. I try to balance out my car for aggressive street/ track setup. But I haven't began tracking yet. But coming soon enough.

I'm loving the CL Brakes sintered pads. Available in moderate or high bite compounds, no bedding required (just seating), and they wear well. I would go with RC6 front, RC5+ rear.

This place seems to be selling them for the sport brakes.
Brake Systems - Brake Pads - Touge Factory Store

And here:
http://www.essexparts.com/shop/brake-pads.html
If you go to Essex tell them Chris Parsons sent you, ask for Jeff Ritter. I would try and get a price match as well since the other place is cheaper.

Thx for the info on CL pads, they look great!

Glad you've broken in your babe. :) Good stuff.

If your looking for a good oil cooler you should check out the one from Stillen that is made for the 350Z. It's a 19 row cooler with a Thermo Static Sandwitch Plate (meaning it only allows the oil to go through when your temps get high enough. They also have a 25 row cooler that is a track only application and I'm sure would be way over kill.

I also cary a kit from Agency Power that uses a Canton sandwitch adapter, -10 fittings, 10 row PWR Cooler, and braided lines. It's in stock ready to ship.

PM me for prices.

Also if your looking for some track pads the Hawk DT-60's are AWESOME! It's a really good idea to have two sets of brake pads, those for the street and the other for the track. That way you have the best of both worlds.

That's what she said.

i have the z1 motorsports kit with the 34 row cooler. temperatures never exceed 110 to 115 celsius on the track even under full throttle high revs.